This chapter offers a handy guide to basic English grammar, with an eye toward passing the PRAXIS I exam. Included are sample questions and answers with detailed explanations to help you practice for the exam.

Understand the differences between nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs,
and pronouns

Identify and correct errors in sentence structure, mechanics, and grammar

Combine words correctly to form compound words

Identify the correct use of punctuation within a sentence

Identify incorrect word usage in a sentence

Identify the improper use of idioms

The writing component of the PRAXIS exam is broken down into two sections: 45
multiple-choice questions and one essay question. This chapter
will focus on the multiple-choice writing component of the exam. This part
of the PRAXIS exam will test your knowledge of standard English.

The 45 multiple-choice questions are further broken down into two distinct
sections: usage and sentence correction. The grammar usage questions
will test your ability to identify different errors in phrases and sentences.
The sentence correction questions will test your ability to properly restate
a phrase or question if the existing structure is incorrect.

CAUTION

You can expect to encounter approximately 17 questions
on grammatical relationships, 17 questions pertaining to structural relationships,
and 11 questions on word choice and mechanics.

This chapter will cover grammar and sentence structure. A review of basic
grammar skills will be provided, as well as the different types of questions
you are likely to encounter. After working through the chapter, you will also
be able to identify different types of errors in phrases and sentences.

CAUTION

You will also be expected to identify those sentences and
phrases that are considered error-free.

Grammar

Part of the PRAXIS I Writing exam will test your knowledge of basic grammar.
You will be expected to be able to identify incorrect uses of grammar within a
given sentence or passage. The following sections will look at grammar-related
exam topics that you are likely to encounter on the exam. This includes

Nouns

Pronouns

Nouns

I’m sure we are all familiar with the term noun because
it’s a component we learn about in the elementary grades. The definition
of a noun is relatively simple. It’s defined as a person, place, or thing.
Every sentence must contain at least one noun as its subject. For example:

The car is blue.

A whale is a mammal.

CAUTION

Be prepared to encounter questions asking you to identify the noun that is
the subject within a sentence. Because a sentence or phrase can contain more
than one noun, only one of the nouns will be listed as a possible answer. Read
the sentence carefully, identify all the nouns, and compare them to the given
answers.

Proper and Common Nouns

Nouns can be broken down into two different categories: proper nouns
and common nouns. A proper noun is the name of a particular person,
place, or thing. For example, Mrs. Smith, California, and
Felicia are all examples of proper nouns. The thing to keep in mind
with proper nouns is that they are usually capitalized. Common nouns, on the
other hand, designate any one of a class of people, places, or things, and they
are not capitalized. For example, dog, state, and
country are examples of common nouns.

Plural and Possessive Nouns

Nouns can also come in two different forms: plural nouns and
possessive nouns. As the name implies, plural nouns indicate more than
one person, place, or thing. A plural noun can be formed by adding the
appropriate ending to the noun, such as s, es, or
ies. For example, cars, dishes, and babies
are plural nouns. Possessive nouns indicate ownership, which is normally formed
by adding ’s to the end of a noun. For example, in the phrases
"my grandmother’s house" and "my dog’s bone,"
grandmother’s and dog’s are possessive nouns.

Pronouns

A pronoun is a word that can take the place of a noun. Pronouns
include words such as ours, he, she, and
you. Without pronouns, sentences would have to contain a lot of
repeated nouns. For example, consider the following phrases:

My parents sold their house after 25 years. My parents are moving to
another city. My parents plan to buy a condo there.

With pronouns, you can eliminate the use of some of the nouns, which will
make the sentence much more readable, as in this example:

My parents sold their house. They are moving to another
city. They plan to buy a condo there.

Forms of Pronouns

Pronouns can be subjective, objective, possessive, reflexive, relative,
demonstrative, reciprocal, or interrogative. Each different type of pronoun is
outlined in the following list. The subjective, objective, and possessive forms
of singular and plural pronouns are also summarized in Tables 3.1 and 3.2.

Subjective pronouns—A subjective pronoun is the subject in
a sentence or phrase. The subject performs the action within the sentence.
Subjective pronouns include the words I, you, he, she, it, we, you,
and they.

Objective pronouns—An objective pronoun is the direct or
indirect object in a sentence or a phrase or is the object of a preposition.
Words in this category include me, you, him, her, it, us, you, and
them.

Reflexive pronouns—This type of pronoun is used to
reference the subject of a sentence. Such words include myself, yourself,
himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and
themselves.

Relative pronouns—This type of pronoun relates back to a
noun that precedes it in the sentence. The relative pronoun acts as the subject
or object within a dependent clause. Relative pronouns include words such as
who, whom, whoever, and whomever.

Demonstrative pronouns—This type of pronoun is used in
place of a person, place, or thing. Demonstrative pronouns include this,
that, those, and there.

Reciprocal pronouns—This type of pronoun is used to
simplify sentences. Reciprocal pronouns include each other and one
another.

Interrogative pronouns—This type of pronoun replaces or
stands in place of the answer to a question. Interrogative pronouns include
who, whom, whose, which, and what.

The following sentences provide examples of the different types of
pronouns:

My parents are going on a vacation. They will be gone
for two weeks.

This book amazed her.

Felicia bought a new computer and put it in her home
office.

Bob went to the movies, but he went by himself.

The student who won the spelling contest studied for
several days.

Do these pants go with this?

For their anniversary, my parents gave each other small
gifts.

Who won the 10-mile bike race?

Table 3.1 The Use of Singular Pronouns

Person/Gender

Subjective

Objective

Possessive

Reflexive

First person

I

me

mine

myself male/female

Second person

you

you

yours

yourself male/female

Third person male

he

him

his

himself

Third person female

she

her

hers

herself

Table 3.2 The Use of Plural Pronouns

Person/Gender

Subjective

Objective

Possessive

Reflexive

First person

we

us

ours

ourselves male/female

Second person

you

you

yours

yourselves male/female

Third person

they

them

theirs

themselves male/female

CAUTION

When trying to determine which pronoun is correct, try repeating each pronoun
in the sentence aloud and listening carefully. This is a good way of determining
which pronoun is correct. An incorrect pronoun will more than likely sound
incorrect when you read the sentence.

Adjectives

An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.
It normally precedes the noun and gives the reader more information about the
noun. However, keep in mind that adjectives can also be placed at the end of a
sentence or phrase. Adjectives usually make sentences more interesting.

Adjectives are also used for comparison. This is usually done by adding
er or est to the end of the adjective. These are known as
comparative and superlative adjectives, respectively. For
example:

My car is old.

My parents’ car is older. (comparative
adjective)

My grandmother’s car is the oldest. (superlative
adjective)

TIP

Here is a simple rule for using adjectives. For comparison purposes, you can
add er or est to the end of an adjective. However, if the adjective is more than
three syllables long, use the words more and most for comparison. For example,
"My car is more reliable than yours."

Also keep in mind that there are some irregular forms of adjectives that do
not follow the standard comparative and superlative forms. An example of an
irregular adjective is the word good. You would not say gooder
or goodest. Instead, you would use the words better and
best. By reading the sentence aloud, you can typically use your ear to
determine whether the comparative adjective is correct.

Verbs

A verb is a word that expresses the action, event, or state of being
in a sentence. For example:

I am a teacher.

She swam the entire length of the swimming
pool.

I wrote my English essay.

Verb Tense

Verbs can be used in different tenses. The verb tense gives the
reader information about when something occurred. Actions or events can occur in
the past, present, or future. The following examples show verbs used in
different tenses:

I walk to school. (present tense)

We will plan to go to a movie this evening. (future
tense)

We planned our winter holiday well in advance. (past
tense)

She swims in the pool. (present tense)

She swam in the pool. (past tense)

She will swim in the pool. (future tense)

The common way of changing a verb to past tense is to add ed to the
end of the word. However, some verbs are irregular and do not follow this rule.
For example, the word ride is considered irregular because the past
tense is rode.

Auxiliary Verbs

A verb in a sentence can consist of more than one word. Auxiliary
verbs are used to help the main verb and give information about when the
action or event occurred. The words will, was, and
have are used as auxiliary verbs, as in these examples:

I will run the marathon.

I was running in the marathon.

I have run in the marathon.

NOTE

The most common auxiliary verbs are the forms of be, have, and do.

Finite, Non-Finite, and Infinitive Verbs

As already mentioned, verbs can be written in the past tense. Any verb that
shows tense is known as a finite verb; for example, "We rode,"
"I biked," and "I swam." On the other hand, a non-finite verb
does not show tense, such as "to jump" or "jumping."

Non-finite verbs include participles and infinitives. (The participle does
not show tense but is used with auxiliary verbs that indicate tense.) Non-finite
verbs ending with ing are referred to as present participles. For
example:

I am walking through the park.

I am baking a cake for the party.

Non-finite verbs ending in ed or sometimes en are referred
to as past participles. For example:

I have finished my homework.

I have cleaned the entire house.

I have eaten my snack.

An infinitive is a non-finite verb that usually takes the base form of a
verb. An infinitive can take two different forms. The base form of the verb can
be preceded by the word to or the to infinitive can precede
another verb, as shown in the following examples:

The girls wanted to swim in the pool.

We love to be sitting by the lake on a hot summer
day.

Adverbs

Adverbs are words in a sentence that modify verbs, adjectives, or
other adverbs. Adverbs can essentially modify any word except a noun. These
words are usually formed by adding ly to the end of an adjective; for
example, beautifully, happily, and quickly.

Adverbs can modify verbs and adjectives by telling the reader where, when, or
how something was done, as seen in the following examples:

I cannot find my car keys; I left them over
there.

The crowd cheered loudly.

Yesterday we went to the zoo.

CAUTION

Watch out for double negatives. A sentence can only contain one negative. For
example, the sentence "There wasn’t hardly anyone at the concert"
contains a double negative.

Adjectives or Adverbs

It can be difficult to distinguish between adverbs and adjectives. Here are
some points and rules to help you distinguish between the two.

Many adverbs can be recognized by the ly extension at the end of
a word. For example:

He spoke quietly. (adverb)

He is quiet. (adjective)

You cannot use an adverb to modify a noun, as shown in the following examples:

The quietly children watched a movie. (incorrect)

The children quietly watched a movie. (correct)

If the noun comes before a form of the verb to be, the verb is
followed by an adjective, not an adverb.

On my way to take the exam, I was nervously. (incorrect)

On my way to take the exam, I was nervous. (correct)

If a noun is preceded by a verb describing sense or appearance, the verb
is followed by an adjective, not an adverb. For example: